LAN administrators and network engineers sometimes need to obtain metrics for devices in their network, particularly with respect to network traffic input and output by one or more network devices. If obtainable, these performance metrics serve several purposes. For example, they may be useful in evaluating internal network performance and distribution of network traffic, enabling reconfiguration and optimization of network resources. They also may be useful in monitoring traffic communicated between the network devices and external devices or services, enabling evaluation of (1) internal network resource utilization and (2) external resource and service utilization by network devices.
In various applications, such as those described above, it often is desirable to obtain performance metrics for a collection or group of network devices, which may or may not be physically proximate or otherwise grouped. For instance, to determine external device/service utilization by internal network devices, it may be necessary to obtain aggregate metrics for the logical grouping of network devices interfacing with and utilizing an external device/service. Similarly, to determine network resource utilization by an external device/service, it may be necessary to obtain aggregate metrics for network devices used to make available the network resource.
Independent lists may be manually established and maintained to enable grouping of devices or interfaces from which data is sought. However, because these lists are manually maintained, they often become incomplete or outdated.